Chapter 91

ARTHUR

At six a.m., my private investigator called. “Well, I have good news, and I have bad news,” Ethan said.

“Give me the good news first."

“The good news is I checked the police stations, the hospitals, the funeral parlors, and the morgue. Your woman isn’t in any of those."

I let out a breath. It sounded like a huge whoosh, like a tornado was being released from my lungs.

“That’s a relief.”

“The bad news is, I’ve searched everywhere for use of her credit card. Nothing. I checked Grand Central Station, the airports, the video cams from the bus stations. There's no trace of her. I had my investigators go to all the hotels that take cash where people usually run in cases of a domestic abuse situation…"

My fist clenched. This was not a domestic abuse situation, but I didn’t interrupt him.

“Still nothing. I did look at the video surveillance for some major intersections, but I didn’t spot anything. Of course, that’s not every cam in the city. I’m still checking.” He paused for a second before he continued. “I called all the taxi stations to see if anybody picked her up, but nobody remembered her.”

“Ethan, there must be something we can do."

“I can scour more of the CCTV, and see if she turns up somewhere, but I’m telling you, man, she’s a ghost. It’s like she doesn’t want to be found, and in my experience, if a woman doesn’t want to be found, she ain’t going to be found."

I felt a pain in the side of my chest.

“My guess is she is staying with a friend. Considering I didn’t pick her up on any of the TV cameras, I’m guessing it’s probably somebody within a few blocks' radius. Is there anybody she knows who lives close to your place?“

I shook my head even though he couldn’t see it.

“Ethan, please keep looking.”

“I will. But just know in cases like this, the woman usually comes back on her own.”

I resisted the desire to reach through the phone and strangle him. I knew he was right, that didn't help.

"Saying that doesn't help me." I let out a big sigh. Of course, he'd say those things, but he doesn’t know Doris. He doesn’t understand how passionate she is, how sensitive she is.

I don’t even know for sure why Doris left me, but if it’s because she saw Cathy kissing me and thinks that I’m cheating, her heart could be broken.

And if she’s not with Noah and she’s not with Nina, then she’s out there all alone. Sure, she knows New York City, and I’m sure she can find somebody to talk to, but I don’t like the feeling that she’s hurting and I’m not there for her,

And if I’m being truthful, my heart feels like it has been ripped out, and it’s being held over a rapidly spinning saw blade. If Doris just needed some time to cool off, then why did she take all her things?

Now that I’m not running AmeriCapital, in some ways, I have even less to do. I spend over an hour just sitting at the kitchen table, staring off into space, feeling hopeless, and hopeless, and stupid.

How could I have not seen that Cathy was so manipulative? How could I have let her touch me for more than a split second?

Why didn’t I continue to text Doris like I had planned and invite her for lunch? Then I could’ve told her what happened and had a wonderful lunchtime lovemaking session with her afterward. Or I could’ve told her, and we could have taken the afternoon off to have a quick jaunt to a resort in Connecticut or something.

Did I do the things? No. I let Cathy throw me off my game, then Nathan called and needed help with the deal, and I didn’t get home till 9 PM.

I smack myself in the forehead.

I promised myself I would make my family a priority, and what did I do? I let a woman push me around and spent the entire afternoon and evening in my old office doing business. Right now, have somebody else to take care of!

I just did what I thought was right at the time. And now, because of these poor choices, I might have lost the woman that is most precious to me forever,

How is that fair?

I’m still sitting at the kitchen table with my face buried in my hands when I hear Mia's voice.

“Daddy, where is Mommy?”

My head snapped up. Somehow, I hadn’t thought ahead to the fact that Mia would wake up and Doris might not be home yet. How can it be Doris still isn’t here?

“Pumpkin." I try to think of something possible as quickly as I can, and what I come up with is, "Your mom had to go to Europe for work.”

“To do what?”

Mia's question reminds me that Mia is only a little kid. Not the full-on adult she sometimes seems to be when she’s focused on a task.

“She has a singing job filling in for a singer who got sick.” The minute the words are out of my mouth. I regret them. I’m not in the habit of lying to my daughter, and I don’t like it.

“Sick with a heart problem? Like I have?”

I open my arms, and Mia crawls up into my lap. “Nothing like that, sweetheart. Your mommy is just taking over work for a few days, her friend, and she’ll be back soon.”

“Why didn’t she even say goodbye?”

“Good question. But she did make sure you were taken care of and made sure Mrs. Martinez was able to keep an eye on you."

I hugged Mia tightly. "I know I had to work pretty late last night until after your bedtime. I’m sorry about that.”

“I can’t believe Marie didn’t wake me up to say goodbye,” Mia said. Her bottom lip started to tremble, never a good sign.

“Yes, well, we’re going to let her know that was not a good thing when she comes back.”

“She is coming back, right?”

Oh, he’s definitely coming back. “Absolutely.”

It took twice as long as usual to get Mia dressed for school, probably because she felt grumpy about Doris's departure.

Mia wasn't anywhere near as emotional as I was.

“How do you feel about having a sleepover at your best friend's house?”

Mia perked up a little. “OK.”

I called Becky’s parents and arranged for them to pick Mia up after school.

I hoped the private investigator would find Doris within the next two or three hours. If he didn’t, I couldn't imagine how I would pretend that everything was peachy.

Once Mia left for school, I felt a little better.

Doris took all her clothes and left without a trace. That meant she dumped me. There was no other way to interpret it. But I could win her back.

I’ve had challenges before.

Instead of thinking of all the challenges I'd overcome, my brain plays a highlight reel showing so many precious moments with Doris.

I remembered the first time I saw her striding toward me with determination.

I remembered the first time she propositioned me and how shocked and amused Nathan was when Doris thought I was a stripper. If it hadn’t entertained Nathan so much, I might never have even continued to talk to her.

I remembered the first time we kissed and the first time we made love. How it felt so right. How it felt like electricity was zooming up and down my spine while I bumped into her, holding off, trying to prolong the pleasure.

The night Doris and I were stranded in my Jaguar and had to wait for the tow truck to come. How it could’ve been just an aggravation, but it turned into a romantic adventure.

I paced back and forth inside the penthouse, avoiding our bedroom.

I remembered the way Doris looked the first time she saw Mia and how Mia's eyes lit up when she met Doris for the first time.

I remembered standing in the hospital room doorway of Noah’s private room and hearing Doris read to him.

I remembered when Mia had her last heart episode, and Doris spent so many days with me, squeezing my hand in hers and gently holding Mia's fingers in her other hand.

I remembered everything: every meal, every photo, every conversation, every place we stayed, every laugh we shared, every trip, every sunset, every kiss.

I rubbed my palm over my heart, suddenly aching.

There was nothing I could do right this second. I should work on the pharmaceutical company, Arctic Avalanches, or something else to distract me.

I put on my gray power suit, the one I always considered lucky.

Because I had to find Doris and get her back, I needed all the luck I could get.